I had a really nice buck on camera and hunted him for the majority of last season. This buck didn't stray very far from his little area until around mid december last year when I quit getting pictures of him. He could have been killed by the people on the property next to us, but I think I would have heard about it if that was the case because it was a sure enough nice deer. Anyways, it's a year later and still haven't had a single picture of him and I have multiple camera's spread out throughout our property. Just wandering if anyone has ever had a deer show back up after this long?

When the rut started he may have travelled miles away and ended up in someone's freezer.

^^^ My vote ... It's not uncommon for a buck to travel up to 12 miles away from what I've heard

The short answer is Yes. Bucks will travel for miles looking for a hot doe. Once he finds one he will hang with her until she gives up the cookies, then he looks for another. After he is finished breeding he will be back.

Have had them show back up after a year but have also seen them just avoid areas where cameras are being run (probably just detecting human scent and avoiding the area). I was once in a camera crazy club where the guys seemed they would rather get pictures of them than kill them and if they ever got a picture of a shooter it was the last time anyone would see that deer again. They'd run multiple cameras in an area and check them sometimes daily. I knew I was not going to like the club when one guy showed me over 300 pictures he had from 13 cameras he had out over the summer. Didn't mean to rant but I guess I did. The answer is yes, I've seen deer that disappeared show back up a long time after.

Deer have different ranges, mostly affected by food sources or breeding habits. That buck could have been killed 5 miles from your place. I've never had one show back up. That's why I feel strongly that if you see a nice one you need to kill him, you most likely won't ever see him again if you don't. It has happened way too many times to me. Hunt safe

My experience is similar, I get 3 to 5 seconds to pop him and if I don't then I won't ever see him again.

Yeah that’s how it is every time for me.. I passed up some pretty nice deer hunting this one. When I finally decided that I was done passing them up I quit seeing them too haha. If I knew how to post a picture I would. Maybe someone on here knows something about it

UA's buck, or the one that disappeared. Look at the bright side UA! You don't have a big Taxydermy bill!

Great deer. If I had to guess, he went off chasing tail and was killed 2-10 miles from you, he was hit by a car, or died from injuries sustained fighting or maybe just from the stress of the rut. He's old. Someone might have shot and lost him and he's laying dead somewhere in the woods which is why you never heard about him being killed around you. Typically, older bucks have established home ranges and while they might not stay there all the time, they generally return to them at roughly the same times each year.

Then again, I have a buddy that swears he had a stud like that go missing for 2 full years then showed back up on camera like he'd been there all along. You just never know.

Yes I have 4 years ago it started. I only own 40 acres at the house and 4 years ago when I started running cameras in late November I got pics of a nice 10pt. He stayed around till the end of December when our rut kicked in then disappeared until jan 5th the following year as a good bit bigger 10. He stayed around till the first of Feb when our rut was done only to dissapear again. Last year December 29th he showed back up as a stud and disappeared again the early part of February. I have found out he stays a 1/4 mile across the paved rd behind me in the summer then makes his way over for the rut. I can't wait for him to show up this year and am going to throw everything under the kitchen sink at him. He is still alive I'm hearing and should be a giant.

That’s awesome man, I hope you get him! I haven’t given up all hope quite yet.

The guys i duck hunt with in Arkansas had pictures of a 170" buck, it was killed 7 miles away 2 weeks after he stopped getting pictures of him. On the other hand i had pictures of a buck that scored 155" behind my house. Two years went by with no photos of him and the neighbor killed him 200 yards from where i been getting daily pictures of him 2 years prior.

I would shoot me another nice buck while I was waiting on big boy if the quality and quantity allowed. Seed like those deer would make for some good hunting for deer in the future. May keep growing larger racks for 7-8 years. Found a study online out of state on a deer being grown in a no hunting zone on a military base. Deer is 8 years old and huge cause no one is allowed to hunt it.

I've had them disappear for a number of reasons, mainly a near fatal injury or surviving EHD. Others get killed far away. Some just pick up and leave for no reason.

Cameras also don't detect all the deer using a property.

Truest statement of all posts

You don’t say? Haha

He has a habit of that.

I think the older wiser deer get camera shy after a few flashes.